Flame of My Heart
by horseygurl89
Summary: On the night of prom, Kagome comes through the well to see a certain hanyou. How will he react?
1. Chapter 1

**Flame of My Heart**

AN: Look it's this simple if I owned Inuyasha and Co. I would not be spending my time writing these stories!

AN 2: I will have a link posted to my profile where you can view pictures of Kagome's dree and the Camellia flower that Gramps gives her.

Kagome sighed studying herself in the mirror. The outfit was so different from what she usually wore and she honestly felt kinda silly. It was hard to believe that the girl looking back at her was her.

"I still can't believe I let my friends talk me into this," she grumbles to Boyu, who merely opens an eye yawns and goes back to sleep on her bed.

Sighing once again, Kagome returns her gaze to her reflection this time really taking in the details. Her long black hair was pulled up off her shoulders in a simple twist revealing her long slender neck. Having her hair up she decided made her cheekbones stand out better, making her face look more angular and adding years to her age.

'I have to admit I look more like I'm 18 or 19 instead of 15, of course the makeup helps as well,' she muses to herself.

The makeup wasn't overpowering, which was what she was going for, a more natural look. There was just a light dusting of blush to her cheeks and grey eye shadow to highlight her eyes. On her lips was a just a hint of shimmer.

Allowing her gaze to drop further she takes in the pale skin of her shoulders, pleased to see that she doesn't look like she is allergic to the sun anymore, due to her time spent in the world on the other side of the well. Frowning a bit at her train of thought, she shakes her head vigorously, as if trying to clear her mind.

'No. I won't feel guilty about being here. We both need a break from each other. If I had stayed we would have just probably gotten into another fight.'

Kagome reaches up and fingers the blood red pendant that is hanging around her neck. The glass jewel is tear drop in shape with white swirls moving though the red. It is strung to a double strand of white beads and is set high on her neck, almost chocker length. She sighs, taking in the French manicure on her nails.

Dropping her gaze further still, Kagome takes in _the dress_. She would be the first to admit that she loved it. When she saw it she just knew that it was the one.

'Which is a good thing, considering I didn't have time to go shopping. I'll have to thank Mom later. She did a really good job.'

The dress was a piece of art. White, strapless with red beading across the front done in swirls made to look like flowers and vines. The beading continued down the front eventually separating into three vines that stopped just above her knees. The dress fell all the way to the floor with the hem just grazing her carpet. Turning slightly so that way she could see her back, Kagome noted that the beading continued around the back and again split into the three vines.

Glancing down at her feet, she pulled up the dress to take in the white two inch high heels. Carefully she stuck out one foot trying to get a better look at her also French manicured toenails but wobbled so badly that she quickly dismissed the idea and placed her foot firmly back on the floor.

'I'm just glad these things aren't any higher or I would be in some serious trouble walking.'

A quick sudden smile darts across her face before she could suppress it.

'I wonder what Inuyasha would say if he could see me now? Probably something smart assed about me being a klutz' Kagome chuckles quietly, before abruptly sobering up.

"Gah! Can I not think about him for ten minutes?!" she bursts out suddenly, startling Buyo from his perch on her bed. Seeming to realize he was not going to get any sleep, he stalks out of the room with his nose and tail in the air, flicking it, to show his displeasure.

"Kagome, honey is everything ok?" a voice calls from downstairs.

Making a mental pact to herself that she would not think about Inuyasha for the rest of the evening, she calls back down the stairs to her mother.

"Yeah Mom everything is fine!"

"Well you had better hurry dear, Hojo is going to be here any minute and you aren't ready yet."

Kagome groans as her mother reminds her once again about her 'date' for the night. Apparently her so called 'friends' had managed to convince the poor boy that she would be well enough to go to with him to this shindig and thus she had come home to find her mother in a tizzy worrying that she wouldn't be back in time. Then, once her mother had calmed down enough to realize that she was indeed home, Kagome had found herself thrust into the shower and commanded to 'hurry, they didn't have a lot of time to get her ready and that there was so much to do!'

"Ok Mom, I'll be right there."

Giving herself one last look over she turned away from the mirror and snagged her red clutch from the dresser before carefully attempting to walk down the stairs.

"Oh there you are Kagome, come into the kitchen where the light is better and let me have a look at you," her mother says grabbing her hand and practically dragging her daughter into the brightly lit room.

Kagome rolled her eyes at her mother's antics. Honestly, the woman was more excited about this than she was. But still her straightened her back and put a small smile on her face for her mother.

"Oh Kagome! You look wonderful! Absolutely beautiful! I hardly recognize my little girl! Hojo won't know what hit him!" Mrs. Higurashi cries, clapping her hands excitedly.

That last statement does cause Kagome to roll her eyes, "Momma, how many times have I told you? Hojo and I are just friends, nothing more."

"Yeah that's because Kagome likes Inuyasha and that wishes he was taking her instead, right sis?" Sota snickers from the doorway.

Kagome rounds on her little brother but her face is flushed and she is too embarrassed to be able to formulate a proper comeback.

But her mother waves off Sota's statement like this were not a new revelation, "Oh I know that! Why do you think I picked out the one with the red beading? It matches those robes that Inuyasha wears all the time."

"Mother!" Kagome cries aghast, "You didn't?"

But before Mrs. Higurashi could answer the doorbell rings.

"Oh that's gotta be Hojo. I'll go get the door!" and with that her mother was gone.

Suddenly Kagome's grandfather sidled into the room, checking quickly around to see if the coast was clear before approaching his granddaughter.

"You look lovely Kagome," he says, smiling gently up at her.

Kagome gives him a small smile in return, "Thanks Gramps."

"Here," he says, pushing something into her hair.

"Wha…" Kagome reaches a hand back to feel the soft velvety petals of a flower.

"It's a red camellia, it has many meanings but the one I think suits this most is 'flame of my heart' and that's what you are dear granddaughter, a flame to this old man's heart."

Kagome could feel tears welling in her eyes and quickly she stooped down and threw her arms around her grandfather.

"Oh thank you Gramps it's lovely," she whispers into his chest.

"There, there now dear girl, no crying. No more tears. This is supposed to be a happy night, remember?" he says kindly, gently patting her on the back.

Kagome pulls back and quickly brushes the traces of tears away as her mother's voice could be heard drifting in from the foyer, "Oh Hojo don't you look handsome! You dress up very well! Come in, come in! Kagome is just finished getting ready."

"Uh, thank you Mrs. Higurashi," a nervous sounding Hojo replies.

Kagome peaks around the doorway and gets her first look at her date. He was dressed in a Western (AN: meaning American/European) style tux, wearing a white dress shirt and a red tie that just happened to conveniently match the red of her dress. Everything from his neatly combed hair down to his highly polished dress shoes screamed that he had spent probably just as much time if not longer than her getting ready.

"Kagome!" he exclaimed suddenly, apparently having caught her sneaking a look at him.

Kagome reluctantly steps away from the doorframe and reveals herself entirely to Hojo. Her mother was not disappointed. Hojo's reaction is immediate and violent. His jaw drops, his eyes go wide and glaze over and it seems like his brain completely derails in thought. Kagome shifts on her feet, uncomfortable under his scrutiny. After a couple of awkward moments Hojo seemed to snap himself out of his stupor, with a tremendous blush adorning his cheeks, he drops his gaze, thrusting out a box in her general direction.

"Y-y-you look lo-lov-lovely Kagome," he stutters out, "uh here, this, this is for you."

"Oh, uh, thank you Hojo, you didn't have to," Kagome says embarrassed for him now too. It is obvious that Hojo is a nervous wreck and she wasn't doing much better.

'Should we really be this nervous?' her mind asks, 'Should it really be this hard?'

Carefully she takes the box from his hands and gently pries off the lid to reveal three red roses tied together in a corsage.

"Oh isn't that lovely!" Mrs. Higurashi coos over Kagome's shoulder.

Kagome nods and blushing allows an equally blushing Hojo to slide the elastic around her wrist, securing the small bouquet.

"Are you ready to go?" he asks and for the first time since she had come into the room he raised his head and looked her in the eyes.

"Yeah, you?"

He nods back at her and after a quick goodbye to her family she lets Hojo lead her outside and into the evening air. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Kagome reminds herself that she was on a date with the hottest boy in school and not the hanyou that she couldn't get out of her head.

'You will NOT, N, O, T, NOT think about him! You are on your dream date with Hojo! You should be happy about this! You will have a good time if just for Hojo's sake.'

Squaring her shoulders with that thought she starts down the steps away from the shrine, Hojo next to her. They take a left at the bottom and tread the familiar sidewalk.

'Hey I have taken on all sorts of demons and evil doers I can handle this!' Kagome thinks fiercely to herself, 'Bring on Prom!'

AN 3: Ok guys that's chapter one! Not sure how quick I will be able to get the next chapter up, all depends on school **: - (** but I will do my best to have it up before the weekend! Thanks! Love you all, please review!

AN 4: Oh, looks like there will be about 3 or 4 chapters to this story, so you all know at what pase the story is going to be progressing.


	2. Chapter 2: At the Dance

AN: Ok I know I said that I would have this up before the weekend, sorry but college life is hetic! Thanks for being so patient with me! Also thanks from the bottom of my heart to everyone who reviewed and added this story to their favorites! makes me soooooo happy!

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 2: At the Dance

As they headed towards the school where the dance was taking place Kagome and Hojo quickly went through all the general topics of small talk, from the weather to predicting the amount of kids that were going to be there. But soon, much too soon in Kagome's opinion they fell silent and continued to tread in silence. In her mind the silence was oppressive, weighing down on her like a heavy blanket.

'Why is this so hard?' she wonders, glancing sideways at her companion, 'We are acting like we are complete strangers to each other. I mean, we have gone to the same school for years! I must know a ton of things about him! Like, uh, for instance his favorite color is…Oh! Or that his birthday is in May? Or was it June? Heck, who am I kidding? I don't know one thing about him other than the fact that he likes me. Well I should use this time to get to know him then.'

"Kagome?" Hojo calls, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Yeah what is it?" she asks, turning to look at him. Hojo, however, has his eyes on the pavement watching his feet.

"Uh, are you sure you feel well enough to be out like this? I mean you just got over your latest bout of illness. I would hate to be responsible for you getting sick again."

Kagome sweat drops.

'Honestly how stupid is he? Can't he see through Gramps' lies?'

"Yeah Hojo I'm fine. Completely healed! Don't need to worry about me, no sir!" Kagome exclaims just a little too cheerfully.

Hojo seems to brighten at her answer and replies, "Well that's good to hear, since we're at school."

Kagome looks up surprised to see that they have already reached the school. Following the crowd of talking, laughing and generally excited students they wind their way to the gymnasium behind the building. A line has formed at the doors and they patiently wait their turn smiling, waving and shouting greetings to people that they know.

Finally, they are inside and Kagome blinks several times trying to get her eyes to adjust to black room with the flashing disco lights. The center of the floor has obviously been reserved for the dancing and already a few couples had made their way onto it. Against one wall was a table full of snacks and drinks and spread out around the edges of the room were several tables.

"Kagome over here!" a voice shouts.

Turning instinctively towards the noise Kagome scans the crowd and manages to catch sight of her friends and their dates. Hurrying through the growing crowd with Hojo right behind her, Kagome makes her way over to her friends, who have secured a table for themselves. Kagome feels her spirits rise at seeing them.

'Maybe tonight won't be as bad as I am making it out to be.'

"Oh there you guys are. You all look lovely!" Kagome shouts to be heard over the pulsing music that had began to play. (AN: I'm not going to go into descriptions of everyone's outfits since it doesn't really give anything to the story, plus I'm lazy)

"So do you!" they shout back, "C'mon lets go dance!"

"Wait, I dunno know about that guys," Kagome begins to protest but they have already seized her and Hojo and proceed to drag them out onto the dance floor. Stumbling a bit in her heels, Kagome manages to stay upright and looks around to find that her friends have once again abandoned her and have left her alone with Hojo.

She looks up at him embarrassed, "Sorry about them, they just don't know when to quit."

He smiles back at her, "That's ok. It's what we came to do right? Dance?"

"Yeah, I guess it is."

Abruptly the song that had been playing ends and a slow song take its place. As the couples around them begin to pair up, Hojo flashes Kagome a smile and holds out his hand, seemingly over his nerves.

"May I have this dance?" he asks her quietly.

Kagome stares up at him and can feel her face flush and is grateful for the dimness of the room. Nodding, she takes his hand and allows him to pull her close, wrapping her arms around his neck as he wraps his around her waist. Slowly, carefully they begin to sway to the music. Kagome sighs through her nose, trying desperately to relax and enjoy this.

'God, I am so tense! I can't even begin to unwind and enjoy that he is holding me like this. Why can't I relax?'

She glances down and catches sight of Hojo's tie. The red seems to shine like a beacon to her despite the darkness of the room.

'Inuyasha…' her mind whispers.

"Huh, did you say something Kagome?"

Kagome jerks her head up, meeting Hojo's curious gaze and suddenly she knows that she doesn't belong here.

She pushes away from Hojo and stumbles back, staring at him wide eyed with guilt.

"Kagome?" his face is twisted with confusion and hurt.

"I'm sorry Hojo, tonight was a mistake. I shouldn't be here. I'm terribly sorry, but, I just, I gotta go!" and with that she wheels away from him, leaving him standing in the middle of the floor, rejected. Kagome pushes her way through the crowd and finally she is free, standing outside the gym in the night air taking deep gulping breaths like she had been drowning. Glancing up at the moon, she stares at it for a second, before taking off at a run back towards the shrine, back towards the man she can't leave behind.

Stumbling down the sidewalk, Kagome pauses long enough to rip off her heels so that way she can actually run. People stare at her as she passes but she doesn't care. Her heels are clutched in her hands as she darts up the stairs and across the courtyard of her home. She throws open the doors to the well house and stands there panting, taking in the sight of the battered Bone Eaters Well. Catching her breath, Kagome slides the doors shut behind her and walks down the stairs to stand in front of the well.

Without taking her eyes off it, as if afraid that it might disappear, she drops her shoes next to her along with the purse and rips off the corsage of roses, letting it fall to the ground. She reaches for the flower in hair but pauses, letting her fingers trace the contours of the petals.

'Gramps, you knew didn't you? That I wanted to be the flame to Inuyasha's heart?' She smiles sadly but climbs up onto the rim of the well, staring into the blackness.

"Inuyasha," Kagome whispers. She lets go of the rim and falls.

AN 2: Ok, the last chapter or two is fighting me a little plus I have major tests this week so it might not be until this coming weekend before I can post the next chapter! I really didn't like this chapter but I feel like it did what it needed to do. It is really only meant to be a bridge between the first chapter and the third. Just enough for Kag's to realize she really wants to be with Inuyasha!

Please Review! It means more to me than you will ever know!


	3. Chapter 3: In the Moonlight

**AN: **Ok guys here is the last and final chapter of Flame of My Heart. I apologize for the delay but school sucks! So I hope you all like this chapter. I warn you in advance that in my opinion Inuyasha is a little OOC but I couldn't figure out how to write this and have him not be a little different. So tell me what you guys think!

**AN2:** Oh thanks to everyone that reviewed and added this story to their favorites list! It means more to me than I could ever put into words! Also did you all hear that the new season of Inuyasha starts October 10th? I am so excited! It is only going to be 26 episodes but still!

**Disclaimer: **See Chapter 1

**Chapter 3: In the Moonlight**

The intense blue light that always appears blinds Kagome and there is a sensation of free falling as she slips five hundred years into the past. With a muffled 'umph' her feet once again touchdown onto hard packed ground. Blinking to adjust her vision to the darkness, Kagome tilts her head up and stares at the stars shining brightly over head. A gentle smile graces her features and she draws in a deep breath, taking in the sweet clean smell of the forest.

"Ka-Kagome?"

Kagome opens her eyes to see Inuyasha's puzzled and surprised face peering down at her. A wide smile crosses his face for a second and Kagome feels her breath catch in her throat. Inuyasha didn't smile often but when he did, it meant that he was truly happy about something. Kagome felt a tingle go through her body knowing that her returning was the cause of this particular smile.

'And he says he doesn't miss me when I go home.' Kagome thinks to herself, inwardly smirking but actually matching Inuyasha's smile with one of her own.

"Hey!" she calls up to him, "Do you think you could give me a hand? I can't really climb in this." She gestures to her outfit.

Inuyasha's eyes widen and for a second he stares, apparently just now noticing what she was wearing, but then he lowers his hand down, claws glinting in the filtered moonlight, to her. Giving him another small smile she places her small, delicate hand into his large, rough, calloused one. A show of trust that she knows means more to him than anything she could say. Kagome grips his hand tightly signaling that she was ready. She feels the long fingers wrap around her hand and in that split second she has never felt safer or more secure. With very little effort he hauls her out of the well and onto the fresh spring grass.

Inuyasha lets go of her quickly though like he was burned and shoves his hands into the wide sleeves of his haori. A gesture Kagome has learned is a sign of defense, trying to shield himself and his feelings from other people. He takes a couple of steps from her, but Kagome notices with a tiny smile he takes his time looking her over. From the top of her head to the tips of her bare toes. Catching her watching him, he flushes and turns away from her, clearing his throat gruffly and heading towards the base of the Goshinboku. He stops facing the trunk and the scar from where he was pined for fifty years. Tilting his head back he takes a deep breath as if trying to gather his thoughts.

Kagome watches him go and takes in his appearance as well. In the darkness and moonlight she is reminded that he is not fully human. The shine of the silver hair as it catches the light to the ears that swivel taking in the sounds around him. It has always been in the dark that he looks otherworldly, a child of the gods, how could she not fall in love with him? Kagome takes a step towards him and an ear flicks back listening to her approach but he doesn't turn around. She stops a few feet from him and calls out his name, questioning his silence.

"Inuyasha?"

Finally he turns and faces her, golden eyes flashing in the dark.

"What are you doing here wench?" he asks, his usual gruff exterior in place. "I thought you were at your school's festival?"

"I-I was," Kagome responds, blushing and dropping her gaze to the ground, "but it wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be I guess." She shrugs at the end, still intensely fascinated with her toes.

Abruptly her chin is yanked up, though the hold is gentle, and she is staring into worried golden eyes.

"Why, did something happen? Did someone hurt you? Damn it! I knew I should have gone with you! Who is the bastard? I'll kill him!" he whispers fiercely, his eyes scanning her features obviously looking for some type of injury.

"No Inuyasha nothing like that!" she laughs, smiling up at him. She chuckles as confusion replaces the worry and anger.

"Then what wench? Something must have happened," Inuyasha insists, "You talked of nothing but this festival for the past two weeks. You kept wishing you could go but said you weren't cause you felt bad for leaving. Then you got mad at me and went anyways. I wasn't expecting you back for a couple of days at least. So something happened that made you leave in the middle of it."

She had to admit his reasoning was sound. Everyone always talked about how strong or powerful he was, but Inuyasha wasn't stupid, not by a long shot. He might do stupid things and behave irrationally but unintelligent, no.

"So c'mon wench out with it. What happened?" Kagome is broken from her musing by Inuyasha removing his hands from her face and placing them on her shoulders and giving a gentle shake.

Kagome opens her mouth to reply, but a thought strikes her and she stares up at him teasingly. "If you didn't think I would be back for a couple of days, why were you hanging out by the well?"

Inuyasha gapes at her and splutters, "Quit changing the subject! I was worried ok? You seem to find trouble no matter what time period you're in!" He tilts his head down so that they are eye level with each other, "Tell me Kagome. I'm not stupid."

Kagome locks gazes with him and despite the fact that she is blushing so hard that she matches the color of his Fire Rat robes she finds that she can't look away from the intense stare.

"Wench," he growls warningly, once again flexing his fingers on her shoulders.

"You weren't there!" Kagome blurts out. Her eyes widen and somehow she flushes even darker. Inuyasha's eyes go very round and he drops his hands from her shoulders. They fall limply next to his side as he gazes at her in shock.

"Wha…?"

"I was trying so hard to have fun, to forget you for one night, but when my date showed up all I could think about was how awkward it was and how you and I are never really uncomfortable around each other," Kagome stumbles to stop, screwing up her face trying to say what she felt at the dance.

"I missed you alright! I couldn't stop thinking about you and I kept wishing you were there!" she cries and turns so suddenly away from him that her dress swirls around her ankles with a soft 'whoosh'.

She clenches her eyes tightly, trying desperately to stave off the tears. But she is fighting a losing battle and a couple of tears escape and run down her cheeks. Kagome stiffens when a hand comes to rest on her shoulder and gently turns her around again. Still keeping her head stubbornly lowered, she gasps in surprise when her face is pushed into a firm chest and strong lean arms are wrapped around her waist. A chin perches itself on top of her head and the chest beneath her cheek expands drawing in a deep breath that she can feel more than hear.

"Baka," Inuyasha whispers above her, "I missed you too."

"Inuyasha," Kagome breaths.

"That's why I was waiting by the well. I sit here in the Goshinboku until you come back. I worry that you'll leave and never return. That you'll finally figure out that I'm not worth all this and never look back. Every time you return I am astounded that you would come back for me, a lowly hanyou."

Inuyasha tightens his hold on her, pulling her more firmly against him and in response Kagome wraps her own arms up around his neck in a hug as well. For a while they just stand there, basking in the presence of each other, but then Kagome's giggles break the silence.

"Oi wench! What's so funny?" Inuyasha asks, pulling away from her enough that he can peer down into her face.

"You are such a baka Inuyasha," Kagome whispers. "I will always come back to you."

Golden eyes stare into grey, searching for any trace of dishonesty before crushing her back to him.

"Good," Inuyasha mutters, tilting his face so that way his cheek is resting against her hair.

Once again neither speaks, just listening to the soft sounds of the other's breathing and the equally quiet sounds of the woods. Softly, her voice barely above a whisper Kagome tells Inuyasha all about the dance and the realization that she had in the middle of the dance floor. Inuyasha chuckles at her description of Hojo standing there looking so confused and lost.

"I would have liked to have seen that. Never liked him anyways. Boy was stupid, couldn't figure out that you didn't like him. Kinda like that mangy wolf. Hey," he pulls back again, eyes wide with mischief, "Do you think he's Kouga's descendent?"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome laughs, "That's awful! How could you say something like that?" but her grin betrays her real feelings.

He chuckles and carefully begins extracting himself from her embrace. Inuyasha holds her at arm's length and seems to be steadfastly ignoring the confused and hurt expression that flickers to the surface of her face. Slowly, oh so very slowly, he takes her in. She can almost feel his gaze like a caress on her skin as his eyes wander over her. Kagome can feel the blush rise in her cheeks but unlike with Hojo she does not feel uncomfortable by his scrutiny. Instead she keeps her eyes open and fixed on his face as he looks her over. Finally his gaze returns to her's and he is sporting a light blush as well, cause of his ogling.

"You look beautiful Kagome," Inuyasha murmurs, his face heating up even more at the admission.

Taken completely off guard by the very un-Inuyasha like behavior, it takes Kagome a couple of minutes to formulate a response. "Ah…oh…well, thank you. I mean, I didn't do much. I just did the makeup, Mom picked out the dress," she begins to ramble, before a finger is pressed to her lips, effectively stopping her.

"I dunno if I should thank or hurt your mother for letting you go out dressed like this without me to protect you," Inuyasha whispers, smiling slightly.

Since her speech and her brain were being hampered by the finger still pressed against her lips all Kagome could do was raise an eyebrow questioningly in Inuyasha's direction.

"I like the dress, but I wish I could have been there to keep all those boys away from you, especially Hobo."

Kagome snorts against his finger but she regrets the action immediately when it causes him to remove the tempting digit. Catching the whine before it could leave her throat Kagome clears it instead and looks up at him shyly through her bangs.

"Mom picked out the color cause she said it reminded her of your robes."

That caused Inuyasha's eyebrows to shoot up into his hairline, even as a darker blush stains his cheeks.

"Really now?" he chuckles, obviously embarrassed, "I guess I really do need to thank her then. It looks amazing on you."

Kagome flushes at the compliment, not used to this side of her hanyou friend.

"Gramps gave me the flower," she explains, reaching up to touch the blossom tucked into her hair, "It's a…" but Inuyasha cuts her off, reaching up as well and brushing clawed fingers over the bloom.

"A Camellia." He finishes for her, reverently stroking the petals with a wistful smile on his face, his eyes vacant, clearly seeing something that she couldn't see.

"Yeah," Kagome replies, "it is. But how did…?"

Once again Inuyasha cuts her off before she can finish, "I used to follow Kikyou around like a dog. Often I went with her when had to gather herbs and plants for the village and for medicines. Sometimes she would talk to me, even in the beginning when I hid myself from her. One day she was telling me about flowers and their meanings." He sighs and seems to come out of the past to glance down at her with a shy grin of his own, "Means 'flame of my heart' right?"

A quick jerk of her head was all Kagome seemed to be able to manage to confirm the question, but then managed to unstuck her throat enough to speak, "I'm sorry."

A confused look was all she got in response; quickly she hurried on, "I should have known that Kikyou had something to do with it. I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring up memories for you. Here I'll just take it out." She reached up and began to pry it away from her hair, when a hand abruptly closed over hers, stopping her.

"Don't." Inuyasha murmured, "Keep it in. It suits you, or at least, I mean, I want it to suit you. Stay."

Kagome freezes, her whole body going stiff at the words. Slowly she tilts her head up enough to be able to look Inuyasha in the eyes. His face is crimson but he determinedly holds her gaze, golden eyes telling her everything that he couldn't put into words. She can feel tears welling up in eyes and for the longest moment she is unable to speak. She can tell Inuyasha is getting nervous, his right ear is twitching something horrible, but she can't seem to find her voice. His eyes slide shut and she watches as he stiffens, prepares himself for a rejection and that look of utter hopelessness on his face gives her back her voice.

"Always." It is barely above a whisper but in the stillness it sounds like a shout. Inuyasha's eyes fly open and he stares down at her incredulous. "Always," She repeats, except this time it is stronger and now she can't help the smile the stretches her cheeks to the point of being painful. Inuyasha stares at her for a moment longer before with a groan that sounded suspiciously like her name he pulls her to him, crushing her to his chest. Her head is positioned right over his heart and it thrills her to feel it pounding under her ear.

"So…" Inuyasha begins quietly. Kagome giggles as she can feel the vibrations of his voice against her cheek. "What type of stuff do you all do at this festival?"

"Well," Kagome starts equally quietly, whispering into his haori, "mostly it just sitting around and talking with friends, but there is a lot of dancing as well."

"Dancing? Like what they do during Setsubun?" asked Inuyasha.

Kagome laughed and quickly shook her head, "No not quite." She pauses and glances up at Inuyasha unsurely, "I can show you if you like?" He just shrugs and grunts, eyeing her curiously.

Kagome squeals in excitement causing Inuyasha to flatten his ears to his head to avoid permanent damage to the sensitive appendages. Quickly realizing her mistake she stops and gives him an apologetic smile. Inuyasha grumbles but does nothing else, so Kagome moves on to her 'dancing lesson'.

"Well there are a couple of types of dancing but we are going to be safe a stick to slow dancing."

Inuyasha nods, following along.

"Here," she says, pressing herself boldly against Inuyasha's front, "wrap your arms around my waist and I'll put mine here." She presses her palms flat against his chest and gazes up into his stunned and beautifully flustered face. Carefully, as though he was half expecting her to 'sit' him at any moment he places his hands on her hips then slowly slides them around to rest on the small of her back.

"What next?" Inuyasha chokes out, trying to hide his sudden nerves at her closeness.

"Well, now we sway to the music." Kagome says, smiling up at him.

"But there's no music." Inuyasha states, frowning down at her, his confusion winning over his embarrassment.

"There's always music Inuyasha," Kagome states serenely, "You just gotta listen for it." And with that she gently begins to sway, following a beat on she could hear, urging Inuyasha to follow her lead with her hips. Quickly the hanyou caught on and was soon swaying perfectly in time with her.

Kagome sighed, and relaxed more into the hold, causing Inuyasha to tighten his grip to support her. Grinning slightly she slides her hands up over his chest, delighting in hearing his breath catch in his throat, as she winds her arms around his neck and loses her fingers in his hair. Kagome closes her eyes and lowers her head to rest on his chest. Her ears filled with the pounding of Inuyasha's heart.

After a couple of minutes Kagome feels Inuyasha relax as well into the movement. His hold tightens on her back, pressing her more firmly against him. Finally his head drops and he rests it against her shoulder, breathing deeply in her scent. They continue to dance to the rhythms of their hearts under the moonlight. Love that had transcended five centuries bloomed in the light of the full moon.

AN 3: T-t-t-th-th-th-thats all folks! Did you love it? Hate it? Let me know!


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